Tennessee Vols Basketball Recruiting

#11,379
#11,379
I'm not going to get too caught up in having to have "another PG". Really, we're just talking about guys that can initiate the offense and bring the ball down the court. We know ZZ, Santi, JJJ, and likely BJ Edwards are all capable of doing that. I'd rather be looking for a player who has that fundamental skill at a larger size. Modern basketball has shown that you just can't have enough guys in the 6'6 -6'9 range that can play defense and hit a perimeter shot. While I think it's clear that Hunter is a significant talent compared to those left in the portal, if we strike out with him, I think we should look for best available in the guard/wing groups.

I think the quality that's going to carry over from last year is our defense, because neither Fulky not Chandler were huge contributors in that area. Let's maximize our strengths.
 
#11,380
#11,380
hotcypress said:
I'm not going to get too caught up in having to have "another PG". Really, we're just talking about guys that can initiate the offense and bring the ball down the court. We know ZZ, Santi, JJJ, and likely BJ Edwards are all capable of doing that. I'd rather be looking for a player who has that fundamental skill at a larger size. Modern basketball has shown that you just can't have enough guys in the 6'6 -6'9 range that can play defense and hit a perimeter shot. While I think it's clear that Hunter is a significant talent compared to those left in the portal, if we strike out with him, I think we should look for best available in the guard/wing groups.

I think the quality that's going to carry over from last year is our defense, because neither Fulky not Chandler were huge contributors in that area. Let's maximize our strengths.
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Wait...did you just say that Chandler, who was 2nd in the SEC in steals wasn't a huge contributor in our defense? I mean not to mention Fulky was top 15 in blocks, blocks per game, and block % in the SEC. Both were also top 20 in conference in Defensive rating.
 
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#11,381
#11,381
MoCo_Vol said:
Wait...did you just say that Chandler, who was 2nd in the SEC in steals wasn't a huge contributor in our defense? I mean not to mention Fulky was top 15 in blocks, blocks per game, and block % in the SEC. Both were also top 20 in conference in Defensive rating.
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A very strange statement, Chandler was fantastic on defense. Fulky was a very good defender as well overall, particularly with the effort he gave. He had his limitations against bigger posts and with rebounding, but Fulky was a part of like 6 different highly rated defenses. I would like to think he helped play a part in that.
 
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#11,383
#11,383
If anything the latest trend in basketball is moving back to more specialization: true PGs that can play at the speed of sound and 7 foot centers that can get up and down the court fast.
 
#11,385
#11,385
Unconditional Surrender said:
If anything the latest trend in basketball is moving back to more specialization: true PGs that can play at the speed of sound and 7 foot centers that can get up and down the court fast.
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I think for PGs specifically it may be the case, but I think the lack of specialization at the other positions is why it has driven up the value of true PGs with speed and handles.
 
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#11,386
#11,386
hotcypress said:
I think the quality that's going to carry over from last year is our defense, because neither Fulky not Chandler were huge contributors in that area. Let's maximize our strengths.
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I think it was Chandler's lack of athleticism that led to all his defensive inadequacies. Shouldn't be hard to replace.
 
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#11,387
#11,387
hotcypress said:
I'm not going to get too caught up in having to have "another PG". Really, we're just talking about guys that can initiate the offense and bring the ball down the court. We know ZZ, Santi, JJJ, and likely BJ Edwards are all capable of doing that. I'd rather be looking for a player who has that fundamental skill at a larger size. Modern basketball has shown that you just can't have enough guys in the 6'6 -6'9 range that can play defense and hit a perimeter shot. While I think it's clear that Hunter is a significant talent compared to those left in the portal, if we strike out with him, I think we should look for best available in the guard/wing groups.

I think the quality that's going to carry over from last year is our defense, because neither Fulky not Chandler were huge contributors in that area. Let's maximize our strengths.
Click to expand...

I think you need to go back and watch clips of ZZ, SV, and JJJ bringing the ball up with full court pressure. It's not exactly pretty to watch.
 
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#11,389
#11,389
I mean...really just hope we see improvements in everyone's game. I'm sure all of the guys are working to get better. We've seen growth from players under Barnes before. Santi, JJJ, and ON being the most recent.

If we see that same sort of growth from Aidoo, ZZ, and Mashack plus the incoming players adding something to the mix and we should be alright. Landing a true PG though that can be as good as ZZ or possibly closer to KC will be the difference between a top 10 team that can win the SEC and a top 25 team in the middle of the road in the SEC.
 
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#11,390
#11,390
MoCo_Vol said:
I mean...really just hope we see improvements in everyone's game. I'm sure all of the guys are working to get better. We've seen growth from players under Barnes before. Santi, JJJ, and ON being the most recent.

If we see that same sort of growth from Aidoo, ZZ, and Mashack plus the incoming players adding something to the mix and we should be alright. Landing a true PG though that can be as good as ZZ or possibly closer to KC will be the difference between a top 10 team that can win the SEC and a top 25 team in the middle of the road in the SEC.
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If we land another true pg then we could possibly have a 9-10 man rotation
 
#11,391
#11,391
I see you guys throwing block and steals stats at me. Not to say those stats are worthless, they aren't. However, I don't think steals and blocks are that great of indicators on defensive performance. I'm looking at it from a matchup and on-ball defensive perspective. Yes, Chandler got steals, but he was a bit of gambler to get those steals. James Harden and Luka generate steals in the NBA, but no one is calling them lockdown defenders. Most ideal PGs are now 6'2 and over, and guys could overpower Chandler or just shoot over him. I don't think that foot speed is as big of a benefit as size when defending in a half court set. I think Chandler was great in fitting in with our already high level team defense (the advanced metrics show that), but I think getting someone with more size could be more beneficial, especially in the tournament where teams instinctively move to more of a iso style.

To the comments on Fulky, I'm not saying he was bad or even average. I'm just saying that his contributions won't be missed as much on defense with ON and Aidoo ready to step up. Yet again, Rudy Gobert can get all the blocks he wants, but if he can't stop me exploiting him on pick and rolls, does it matter that much? (see the dallas/utah first round matchup) If Fulky was truly a game changer on that side of the ball, don't you think he would have gotten more minutes?

It's okay to have a difference of opinion on these things.
 
#11,392
#11,392
CornbreadVol said:
If we land another true pg then we could possibly have a 9-10 man rotation
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Last year we had 9 players play in 20 or more games and average 12 or more minutes a game, so it's not too outlandish.

KC and ZZ have spoiled us a bit, I don't expect us to land 2 freshmen in every class that will play as much as they did and be that productive. BJE and DJ are more likely to see BHH/Aidoo type minutes unless they are really impressive players.
 
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#11,393
#11,393
hotcypress said:
I see you guys throwing block and steals stats at me. Not to say those stats are worthless, they aren't. However, I don't think steals and blocks are that great of indicators on defensive performance. I'm looking at it from a matchup and on-ball defensive perspective. Yes, Chandler got steals, but he was a bit of gambler to get those steals. James Harden and Luka generate steals in the NBA, but no one is calling them lockdown defenders. Most ideal PGs are now 6'2 and over, and guys could overpower Chandler or just shoot over him. I don't think that foot speed is as big of a benefit as size when defending in a half court set. I think Chandler was great in fitting in with our already high level team defense (the advanced metrics show that), but I think getting someone with more size could be more beneficial, especially in the tournament where teams instinctively move to more of a iso style.

To the comments on Fulky, I'm not saying he was bad or even average. I'm just saying that his contributions won't be missed as much on defense with ON and Aidoo ready to step up. Yet again, Rudy Gobert can get all the blocks he wants, but if he can't stop me exploiting him on pick and rolls, does it matter that much? (see the dallas/utah first round matchup) If Fulky was truly a game changer on that side of the ball, don't you think he would have gotten more minutes?

It's okay to have a difference of opinion on these things.
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I think it's important to note that Chandler made the semi-finalist list for National Defensive Player of the Year. You don't just make that cut unless you are ELITE defensively in all aspects of the game. I think Barnes would be the first to say that Chandler made huge strides with his defense from Game 1 to the end of the season. Tyrese Hunter is also 6'0" tall like Chandler and is seen as a great defender.
 
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#11,394
#11,394
hotcypress said:
I see you guys throwing block and steals stats at me. Not to say those stats are worthless, they aren't. However, I don't think steals and blocks are that great of indicators on defensive performance. I'm looking at it from a matchup and on-ball defensive perspective. Yes, Chandler got steals, but he was a bit of gambler to get those steals. James Harden and Luka generate steals in the NBA, but no one is calling them lockdown defenders. Most ideal PGs are now 6'2 and over, and guys could overpower Chandler or just shoot over him. I don't think that foot speed is as big of a benefit as size when defending in a half court set. I think Chandler was great in fitting in with our already high level team defense (the advanced metrics show that), but I think getting someone with more size could be more beneficial, especially in the tournament where teams instinctively move to more of a iso style.

To the comments on Fulky, I'm not saying he was bad or even average. I'm just saying that his contributions won't be missed as much on defense with ON and Aidoo ready to step up. Yet again, Rudy Gobert can get all the blocks he wants, but if he can't stop me exploiting him on pick and rolls, does it matter that much? (see the dallas/utah first round matchup) If Fulky was truly a game changer on that side of the ball, don't you think he would have gotten more minutes?

It's okay to have a difference of opinion on these things.
Click to expand...
PAP
 
#11,395
#11,395
hotcypress said:
I see you guys throwing block and steals stats at me. Not to say those stats are worthless, they aren't. However, I don't think steals and blocks are that great of indicators on defensive performance. I'm looking at it from a matchup and on-ball defensive perspective. Yes, Chandler got steals, but he was a bit of gambler to get those steals. James Harden and Luka generate steals in the NBA, but no one is calling them lockdown defenders. Most ideal PGs are now 6'2 and over, and guys could overpower Chandler or just shoot over him. I don't think that foot speed is as big of a benefit as size when defending in a half court set. I think Chandler was great in fitting in with our already high level team defense (the advanced metrics show that), but I think getting someone with more size could be more beneficial, especially in the tournament where teams instinctively move to more of a iso style.

To the comments on Fulky, I'm not saying he was bad or even average. I'm just saying that his contributions won't be missed as much on defense with ON and Aidoo ready to step up. Yet again, Rudy Gobert can get all the blocks he wants, but if he can't stop me exploiting him on pick and rolls, does it matter that much? (see the dallas/utah first round matchup) If Fulky was truly a game changer on that side of the ball, don't you think he would have gotten more minutes?

It's okay to have a difference of opinion on these things.
Click to expand...

That's fine I guess...and I'm not saying KC and Fulky are elite defensive players. But they were two of our biggest contributors last season in that area...I base that not only on watching them, but also on all the production they achieved statistically.

The funny thing is everyone would agree JJJ was our best defensive player last year, and likely will be this season as well. But only 3 of our guys were over 2.0 in defensive win share...and the 3rd was one of the most hated on for his defense. (Santi)
 
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#11,396
#11,396
Also...Fulkerson lead the team for bigs in MPG, he was 3rd on team in defensive rebounds, 5th on team in steals, 2nd on team in blocks...

Mind you he did that while playing in less than 750 minutes. JJJ, Santi, KC & ZZ all played more minutes than he did.

Fun fact, Santi was 2nd on team in defensive rebounds with 129 (KC & ZZ combined for 148 defensive rebounds), 3rd on team with 58 steals (just 2 less than ZZ), and he had the same number of blocks as KC.
 
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#11,397
#11,397
MoCo_Vol said:
Also...Fulkerson lead the team for bigs in MPG, he was 3rd on team in defensive rebounds, 5th on team in steals, 2nd on team in blocks...

Mind you he did that while playing in less than 750 minutes. JJJ, Santi, KC & ZZ all played more minutes than he did.

Fun fact, Santi was 2nd on team in defensive rebounds with 129 (KC & ZZ combined for 148 defensive rebounds), 3rd on team with 58 steals (just 2 less than ZZ), and he had the same number of blocks as KC.
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I agree that Santi is underrated as a defender.

Also, I have no idea what PAP means and an internet search is telling me it means "post a picture", if so, that's a no from me dog.
 
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#11,398
#11,398
I'll say Fulky's production will be LESS difficult to replace. Between ON, Uros, Aidoo, and Phillips you'll have plenty of talent and size that can help offset losing him.

KC will be a challenge. I don't think we have anyone on roster (or incoming) that can replace what he brought to the table.
 
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